Design, implementation, and results of an online Psychological First Aid Program (CALMA) in Peru

Montes-Iturrizaga I.; Pérez-Maraví K.; Osorio-Romero G. · Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine (2025)

Resumen

The Online Psychological First Aid Program (CALMA) is a social responsibility initiative of the School of Psychology at Universidad Continental (Peru), which emerged a few weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began (March 2020). The purpose of this program was to provide beneficiaries with a space for emotional support in crises. For this purpose, the service and the care methodology (protocolized) were designed based on a telepsychology approach. Similarly, the ABCDE Guide for Psychological First Aid by Figueroa and Cortez (2016) and others of international scope was considered a reference. It is essential to note that the CALMA Program was offered free of charge through the Google Meet platform to various age groups, with reasonable accommodations made according to individual disability and/or native language needs. This article details the design, development, and implementation process of the CALMA service, which has so far assisted 10,736 beneficiaries (24.9% men and 74.9% women) in both national (90.92%) and international (9.08%) contexts. Likewise, those who provided this service sustainably and continuously were 75 volunteer interns (distributed throughout these years who work 36 hours a week) belonging to the last year of training at the School of Psychology; Finally, a sociodemographic characterization of the beneficiaries is presented, emphasizing the reasons for appointments according to age group and sex. Thus, in general terms, the three main reasons for consultation were irritability and fear (29.6%), emotional pain (21.7%), and loss of initiative and apathy (18.4%).

Instituciones: Universidad Continental